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A B.C. medical marijuana producer is seeking approval from Health Canada to sponsor the first study in Canada on the safety and effectiveness of cannabis for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among sexual assault victims, military veterans and first responder personnel.

The Nanaimo medical marijuana facility called Tilray — one of about 20 Health Canada-licensed producers in the country — is sponsoring the $350,000 study. It would be conducted by University of B.C. researchers at the Kelowna campus and would require UBC ethics board approval. If the study overcomes regulatory hurdles, recruitment of participants with PTSD would begin early next year.

Zach Walsh, a UBC psychology professor who would be the study’s principal investigator, said marijuana is used by an unknown proportion of PTSD patients for symptoms including flashbacks, anxiety, depression, anger, irritability and changes in sleep and appetite. Yet there is a paucity of scientific evidence about therapeutic benefits or risks of use.

“Physicians and patients are hungry for research on marijuana. Medical research is playing catch-up with cannabis use so we really need to do these kinds of controlled studies,” said Walsh, who is a co-director for UBC’s Centre for the Advancement of Psychological Science and Law. “My professional interest is in developing effective therapies for psychological disorders.”

It’s not known how many PTSD patients use cannabis but a 2008 Canadian study estimated that 9.2 per cent of the population will suffer from the extreme anxiety disorder at some point in their lifetime. At any time, 2.4 per cent of people have symptoms as a result of experiencing or witnessing major trauma.

Standard treatment often involves the use of powerful antidepressants, antipsychotics, sleeping pills and other drugs, many of which are “not harmless” since they have unwanted side effects, Walsh noted. While cognitive behavioural therapy is the gold standard, not all patients can afford it or get it. That’s partly why many turn to self-medicating with substances like marijuana, and observational studies or case reports have shown some benefits.

“But this has been a patient-led movement. The medical establishment has trailed with research,” he said.

Walsh said marijuana can also have unwanted side effects, such as bronchial problems or cognition difficulties (memory, paranoia) but researchers and medical dispensary experts believe that may be a function of which strains and delivery methods are used.

“I think the best medical marijuana dispensaries have actually done a remarkably good job of matching strains to patients’ experience. They’ve got the dedication and expertise and really listen to patients. They take their jobs seriously,” Walsh said.

Philippe Lucas, vice-president of patient research at Tilray, said the value of the cannabis supplied by his firm will be about $40,000 (or $1,000 for each of the 40 study participants) but it’s a complex study to organize so various staff will be hired by UBC researchers to co-ordinate the logistics.

Participants will pick up their marijuana and vaporizers at a secure location in the Kelowna area and must return to the lab weekly, so it’s expected most participants will be residents of the B.C. interior region.

Those selected for the trial will have to undergo a two-week “washout” period before starting the trial, which means they will have to stop using marijuana if they are already doing so. Washouts will also take place each time they change strains, but participants, researchers and independent reviewers will be blinded to the strains of cannabis to guard against bias.

Lucas said he doesn’t expect there will be any difficulty finding PTSD patients for the study. Tilray already has 150 customers with PTSD who buy their products, including military veterans and former RCMP officers.

He said Tilray is the first and only Health Canada medical marijuana-licensed producer to announce an intention to conduct a clinical trial for a mental health ailment. Tilray opened its production facility to grow and distribute medical cannabis for Canadian patients in April 2014. The $20-million facility claims to employ more than 100 scientists, botanists and horticulturalists.

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B.C. medical marijuana producer hopes to sponsor PTSD study

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